America could be caught asleep and find itself awakened and staring into the gun of a hostile power.
by Darris McNeely
The price of distraction can be
high-higher than expected. America has been distracted for a long time
by the scandals of the Clinton presidency which have resulted in his
impeachment and Senate trial. In the meantime, the world has been continuing
on a dangerous course. The consequences for America could be serious.
Last July, a report was issued by
a select committee of former military, intelligence, and government
officials. Called "The Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat
to the United States," the committee was chaired by Donald Rumsfeld,
a former United States Secretary of Defense. The mandate of the Commission
was to "assess the nature and magnitude of the existing and emerging
ballistic missile threat to the United States."
The Commission examined the potential
of several modern nations to launch missiles and weapons of mass destruction
upon America. Also studied was the ability of nations to acquire needed
technology from other nations to launch such weapons. Biological and
chemical weapons and the means of delivering them were also studied.
What the panel concluded carries staggering consequences for the U.S.
The nine member committee was unanimous
in concluding the following points:
1. Concerted efforts by a number
of overtly or potentially hostile nations to acquire ballistic missiles
with biological or nuclear payloads poses a growing threat to the United
States, its deployed forces, and its friends and allies. These newer,
developing threats in North Korea, Iran and Iraq are in addition to
those still posed by the existing ballistic missile arsenals of Russia
and China, nations with which we are not now in conflict but which
remain in uncertain transitions.
